The Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness, a Florida nonprofit established to provide K-12 civics education across the United States, has faced intense scrutiny regarding its financial practices and operational impact. According to federal tax filings and reports analyzed by investigative journalists, the organization collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in executive compensation for its founder and his family while showing little documented evidence of classroom-level spending on its stated educational mission.
The controversy surrounding the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLAG) comes as conservative civics education initiatives gain significant traction nationwide. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised the nonprofit during a September 17 event at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., where attendees celebrated the organization for allegedly reaching 2 million children since its founding in 2016, according to records and reports.
“I hope you understand how important this is,” Hegseth told the room, according to official accounts of the gathering. “What we pour into the next generation will determine whether we keep our republic or not.”
Financial Disclosures and Executive Compensation at FLAG
Founded by Australian-born conservative commentator and influencer Nick Adams, FLAG reported annual revenue approaching $1.5 million by 2023 through donations and merchandise sales. However, financial reviews of the organization’s federal tax filings indicate that a substantial portion of the revenue has been directed toward compensation for Adams and his mother, Angelika Adamopoulos.
In 2024, Adams and Adamopoulos collected a combined $587,279 in compensation and benefits from FLAG, accounting for 53% of the organization’s revenue that year, according to nonprofit federal filings. Adamopoulos received $201,861, including benefits, in her role as the organization’s secretary. On the same federal filing, FLAG answered negatively when asked by the Internal Revenue Service whether any officer or director shared a family relationship with another director or officer.
Tax experts have raised concerns regarding these figures. Lloyd Mayer, a nonprofit law professor at Notre Dame Law School, noted that the absolute dollar amounts and the percentages allocated to executive compensation are very high. Furthermore, FLAG reported answering no on federal tax filings between 2017 and 2024 when asked if executive compensation was reviewed by independent individuals or compared against similar organizations—a standard safeguard against self-dealing.
Philip Hackney, a nonprofit law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a former IRS official, stated that the absence of independent reviews creates potential legal exposure. Such conditions can trigger classifications as an excess benefit transaction under IRS regulations for compensation exceeding fair market value.
Sweepstakes Operations and Donor Funding Questions
Beyond executive compensation, financial audits of FLAG indicate that much of the organization’s revenue is raised through direct-mail sweepstakes operations offering large cash prizes, including a $1,000,000 award. Operating under campaign names such as “Payout Decision” and “Winner Search Swps,” the fundraising apparatus relies heavily on individual donors.
State regulations require charities running sweepstakes to register and report to state authorities, including in Florida, where FLAG is registered. Public records show that FLAG did not disclose a sweepstakes program on its federal tax filings, and researchers have been unable to locate official sweepstakes registrations for the organization in any state.
Reviewing nine years of public tax returns revealed no financial transactions consistent with a $1,000,000 prize payout. Legal experts point out that large prize disbursements should appear on public IRS Form 990 filings. At its financial peak in 2023, FLAG held approximately $512,000 in total assets, which is roughly half the value of the headline prize offered to prospective donors.
In April 2024, a Better Business Bureau complaint filed by a retired senior citizen alleged that FLAG repeatedly postponed its sweepstakes drawing deadlines, pushing a timeline originally scheduled from January 2022 through December 2024 to a new window ending in January 2025.
Classroom Impact and Recent Leadership Shifts
Despite claims on FLAG’s website that over 1 million educational resources have been distributed to classrooms nationwide, federal tax documents show minimal spending dedicated directly to schools, teachers, or educational distributors. Aside from a 2017 filing indicating modest expenditures for printing kid-friendly editions of foundational documents like the Student’s Constitution and the Student’s Federalist Papers, recent tax returns contain few line items matching traditional educational program expenses.
In March, Adams ceded the role of CEO of FLAG around the time he accepted an appointment by President Donald Trump as the special presidential envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism, and values.
Representatives for FLAG and Nick Adams did not respond to detailed inquiries regarding the organization’s financial operations, sweepstakes transparency, and educational programming. The next scheduled updates concerning the organization’s governance and regulatory status will depend on upcoming annual federal tax disclosures and state-level charity filings.
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